Display merchandiser



Dec. 13, 1960 E. F. TODD 'EIAL 2,964,371

DISPLAY MERCHANDISER Filed Feb. 17, 1958 INVENTORS EDWARD F. TODD SIGMUND MALCZEWSKI BY M ATTORNEYS DISPLAY MERCHANDISER ildward F. Todd, Highland Park, and Sigmund Malczewski, Chicago, Ill., assignors to The Imperial Brass Manufacturing Co., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 715,745 '3 Claims. c1. 31z-2s4.s

' walls parallel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet with drawers, the front wall of which is designed to cooperate with the drawer positioning means to positively position the drawer in the cabinet and to provide space for an identification card therein.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cabinet with drawers having a transparent front wall, a portion of which extends beyond the bottom wall of the drawer for cooperation with an extension of the drawer to form an enclosed recess below the ordinary line of sight to the interior of the drawer for position ing an identification card therein, whereby the downward extension forms an out of the way drawer pull.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a display merchandiser embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a merchandiser embodying the invention with a portion of the side panel cut away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the drawers of the invention in cooperation with the drawer positioning shelves; and

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of a drawer embodying the invention taken along the line 44 of Fig. 3 with a portion of the front panel cut away to show the structure of the drawer.

Because of the large number of small parts or items which must be kept in inventory and readily accessible for individual sale, the retail hardware industry has always bcen faced with the problem of providing adequate, convenient and attractive space for storing small parts or items for over the counter sale. While the use of small individual drawers has been known to the industry, they present the difiiculty and inconvenience of ascertaining the contents of the drawers which, in the systems which have been employed in the past, entails going to each individual drawer and opening it to survey the contents. The individual drawers were, of course, labeled to indicate the contents, but the contents themselves could not be seen. The construction and positioning of the conventional drawers meant that even though a transparent drawer were to be used, the clerk could only see into those which were at eye-level since United States Patent effective merchandising tools-eye appeal.

Patented Dec. 13, 1960 "ice the front of the drawers were perpendicular to the horizontal line of the floor or the cabinet.

The storage arrangements which have been known in the past did not permit the buyer to view the stored items, thereby depriving the seller of one of his most Since the buyer very often does not know the proper designation of the item for which he is looking, it is difficult for him to convey his needs to the clerk or to attempt to interpret the identification cards which are placed on the drawers. By making the stored items visible to the consumer, his shopping is made easier for specific purchases and also may serve as a reminder of other items he needs.

Even where the conventional drawer has a transparent front wall, the drawer pull and identification card are placed thereon as to obscure the view into the drawer. The novel arrangement of the inclined front wall of the invention permits the identification card holder and the drawer pull to be incorporated below the storage portion of the drawer so as to present an unobstructed view of its contents.

In the present invention, an embodiment of which is illustrated herein, the display merchandiser is comprised of a horizontal base and two side panels positioned perpendicular to the horizontal base. The front or display portion of the merchandiser lies in an inclined plane which is defined by the tapered front edges of the side panels while the drawers are positioned in the cabinet on drawer positioning means in such a manner that their major plane is perpendicular to the frontal plane defined by the forward edges of the panels and is consequently at an acute angle to the horizontal base of the cabinet. The front wall of the drawers is formed at a reading angle and cooperates with the drawer positioning means to position the drawers in such a manner that viewing of the drawers and their contents merely entails a glancing down by the clerk. Because of the angle of the frontal plane and the angles of the front or forward walls of the drawers, all of the drawers are easily visible from a single eye position without necessitating the stooping or stretching which would ordinarily be required to put the eye more or less perpendicular with the front wall of a drawer. An identification card holding means is incorporated in the front wall, within the drawer stop portion, to accommodate an identification card in each drawer. Because the identification card holding means is placed below the bottom surface of the drawer and within the transparent wall, there is no possibility that the card will be inadvertently removed or misplaced, and further, the card does not obstruct the view into the drawer and is protected from smudging or other deterioration due to handling, marking or getting dirty.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the display merchandiser illustrating the present invention is comprised of a horizontal base 11 mounted on four suitable legs such as 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d. The cabinet itself is an enclosure formed by the two side panels 13 and 14 and a back panel 16 with a top panel 17 mounted toward the upper ends of the side panels 13 and 14 to tie I them together, and an intermediate panel 18 located part way up the side panels and secured to both.

The side panels 13 and 14 are positioned perpendicular to the horizontal base 11. The side panels are so shaped that their rear edges are also perpendicular to the base 11 while their forward edges 13a and 14a are tapered toward the top to define between them a frontal plane for the cabinet which intersects the horizontal base at an angle less than A drawer positioning means, generally designated 21, comprising a plurality of drawer shelves 24 is secured within the cabinet with the major plane of the shelves being perpendicular to the frontal plane defined by the edges 13a and 14a. The lower portion of the cabinet is a storage compartment 22 enclosed on the top and bottom by the horizontal base 11. and, the interrnediate panel- 18.respectively,.and enclosed on three sides by, portions of the two sidepanels 13-and14-and theback panel16. 'The front of the storagecompartment 22.is closed by a suitablehinged door 23 The drawer-positioning means 21 is most clearly seen in Figure 3 and comprisesta backplate'25 which is-secured in the cabinet. parallel to' the frontal plane and has secured. perpendicular thereto aplurality of drawer shelves 24. Each of the shelves24 has a-channelportion 26 formed: onthe outer end thereof by -making two bends in the material. and forminga substantially U- shaped channel. This channel 26, as will be explained later, serves as a limiting member in limiting both the outward and inward movement ofthedrawer.

The drawer 27, which is most clearly seen in Figures 3 and 4, is formed of a bottom wall 27a, two side walls 27b which are perpendicular to the bottom wall, a back wall 270, and a front or forward portion 28. The side walls 27b each have a shoulder formed thereon which together with the upper portion of the back wall- 270 defines a stop portion 29' This stop portion 29 on the drawer 27 cooperates withthe lower extremity 31 of the U-shaped panel 26 of its upper adjacent drawer shelf 24 to act as a drawer stop and limit the outward movement of the drawer. When it is desired to remove the drawer for any reason, it' can be rotated counterclockwise (Fig. 3) to remove the stop portion 29 fromwengagement with the extremity-31..

The front wall- 28a of the drawer isat an acute angle to the bottom wall 27a. This acute-angle is of a lesser degree than the angle of the frontal plane with the base portion. of the cabinet so that the forward wall of the drawer will be more inclined'than the frontal plane when placed in the cabinet and hence at the average reading angle and easier to read from above. The base wall 27a terminates at its forward end in an abruptly downwardly curving portion and the forward wall 28a is secured substantially parallel to the downward curved portion by an arcuate connecting bead 32. The space between the downwardly curved portion of the base27a and front wall 28a is utilized as a holder for an identification card 33 which may be held in place against the forward panel 28aby any suitable means such as the tabs 35 formed on the curved portion of the base wall 27a.

In addition to forming an identification card holder, the curved portion of the base 27a and the lower portion of the front wall 281:, which is below the major plane of the bottom wall 27a, forms a drawer pull. The forward positioning of the drawer is accomplished by a pair of abutments 281) formed within the curved portion for cooperation with the vertical sides 34 of the U shaped channel of the supporting drawer shelf 24.

The drawer of the illustration of the present invention is provided with a plurality of. pairs of ribs 36 formed on the side walls 27b. These pairs of ribs are formed opposite one another for the accommodation of dividing panels for. purposes of compartmentalizing the drawers if it is so desired.

The foregoing detailed description is given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. In a display merchandiser for storing a plurality of types of items in compartments affording easy visual inspection thereof, and having a pair of parallel perpendicular side panels, the forward edge of said side panels being tapered toward the topto define an inclined frontal plane and drawer positioning means including drawer supports positioned between. said side panels. perpendicularly to said frontal plane, aplurality of drawers positioned on -said -supports, each of-said drawers comprising: a substantiallyfiat bottom wall terminating in a downward projection at its forward end; and a transparent front wall secured in.=spaced relationship to said projection at an acute angle to the flat portion of said bottom wall whereby an upwardly extended portion of said front wall permits viewingv of the interior of the drawer at an average reading angle and a downwardly extending portion thereof cooperates with said downward projection to form a transparent card enclosing means below the flat plane of the bottom wall of said drawer.

2. In a display merchandiser, a display drawer comprising: a substantially fiat base wall which terminates at its forward end in a downward projection; and a transparent forward wall secured to the projection of said base wall to extend upwardly therefrom at an acute angle to the hat portion of the base wall and spaced forwardly thereof whereby the space between, said forward wall and said downward projection forms acard receiving recess readily viewable from, thefront of the drawer while precluding accessibility thereto fromfthe front of'the drawer and' permitting observationof the interior of the drawer through the upper portion of the forward wall.

3. In a drawer for use in a display merchandiser: a substantially fiat bottom wall terminating at its forward end in a downward projection, said projection being curved to form a finger-grip thereon; a transparent forward wall secured in spaced relationship to said downward projection at an acute-angle to thetfiat portion of said bottom wall to form a card receiving recess between said forward wall and said projection; and tabs extending forwardly from said projection within said recess to adjacent the forward Wall to position a card against the rear face of said forward wall for ready viewing thereof through said front wall.

References Cited inrthe file of this patent -UN1TED STATES PATENTS D. 167,392 Carr Aug. 5, 19.52 168,460 Cutter Oct. 5, 1875 243,443 Gould June 28, 1881 416,298 Morton Dec. 3, 1889 905,809 Garman Dec. 1, 1908 1,137,073 Morris Apr. 27, 1915 1,274,843 Bekkering Aug. 6, 1918 1,335,286 Leonard Mar. 30, 1920 1,358,033 Smith Nov. 9, 1920 1,379,867 Johnson May 31, 1921 1,653,530 Abrachinsky Dec. 20, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,126,496 France July 30, 1956 

